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BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT for Canada Lynx Grizzly Bear

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BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT for Canada Lynx Grizzly Bear BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT for Canada Lynx Grizzly Bear Wolverine Otis Gold Corporation Plan of Operations for the Kilgore Project Dubois Ranger District Caribou-Targhee National Forest Clark County, Idaho Prepared by: __/s/_S. Derusseau__________________________ March 15, 2018 Dubois and Ashton-Island Park Districts Wildlife Biologist Date SUMMARY Species Status Determination Canada lynx Threatened May affect, not likely to adversely affect (NLAA) (Lynx canadensis) Grizzly bear Threatened May affect, not likely to adversely affect (NLAA) (Ursus arctos) Wolverine Proposed Not likely to jeopardize the continued existence (Gulo gulo) Threatened (NLJCE) or NLAA INTRODUCTION The purpose of this biological assessment (BA) is to analyze the effects of the proposed action on endangered, threatened, and proposed species. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act directs federal agencies to ensure actions authorized, funded, or carried out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species. This project was streamlined on March 14, 2018. PROJECT The project is occurring on the Dubois Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Clark County near Kilgore, Idaho. The legal description is Township 12 North, Range 38 East, Section 6; Township 13 North, Range 37 East, Section 25; and Township 13 North, Range 38 East, Sections 8, 16 to 21, and 27 to 33 (see attached maps). This project would last up to five years (2018 to 2022) and occur from July 15 through early November. Otis Gold Corporation would conduct exploration drilling on up to 140 drill sites on its claim in the Gold Ridge, Prospect Ridge, Dog Bone, and Mine Ridge areas. The purpose of the exploration drilling is to evaluate the gold potential. Project activities consist of Otis Gold Corporation’s plan of operations dated September 2017 and include existing road use, new road construction, and exploration drilling within the road prisms. Otis Gold estimates that there are 21.5 miles of roads that will be used for the project. Approximately 2.3 miles of roads are existing and will require no maintenance. Approximately 12.1 miles of roads will require some maintenance, which may include removing downed timber, brushing, and blading. Approximately 7.0 miles of roads would be constructed. Gates would restrict public access. Motorized equipment to be used for project activities include five drill rigs, a fork lift, ATVs, pick-up trucks, a water truck, a fuel truck, and water pumps. Equipment would be power-washed for noxious weeds prior to use on the claim. There would be two to six pick-ups in operation per day and a water truck as necessary. There would be at least three drill rigs in operation at one time. All 140 drill sites are within the existing or proposed road prism. Sites may vary within 50 feet of proposed locations. Which sites are drilled depends on the results of each assay. Each drill site will have a maximum of three holes with an average depth of 1300 feet. Drill sites will have a sump to collect drilling wastewater. Each drill hole would be plugged in accordance with state regulations after drilling. Drill sites would operate 24 hours per day. Lighting would be necessary at night. There may be up to three drills operating at one time. Generally, a drill operates at a site for one to two weeks before being moved to the next site. Water may be collected from three sources. These include an existing well, West Camas Creek at the road crossing, and Corral Creek. The state has allowed Otis Gold to take five acre-feet per year at a rate of 18 gallons per minute from each water source. Water from all sources would be placed in storage tanks and piped to drill sites. There would be five to ten personnel on site each day. Personnel would camp on the claim in RV trailers. Camps would be required to follow the food storage order for grizzly bears. All fuels and lubricants greater than five gallons would be stored within a spill containment system. In addition, spill kits and fire prevention tools will be present on-site. Water quality monitoring will occur. New roads and those with active exploration would be reclaimed when Otis Gold determines that no further exploration is warranted. If vegetation has established, roads would be reclaimed with repairs, seed application, and slash and woody debris placement. If vegetation has not established, roads would be reclaimed with contouring, soil placement, slash and woody debris placement, and seeding. Exploration drilling activity has occurred in the Mine Ridge area of the claim during most years from 2008 to 2017. In 2017, 34 sites were drilled and some of these sites were accessed by helicopter. In 2016, 36 sites were drilled, all in the road prism. In 2014, 16 sites were drilled with less than one mile of road construction. SPECIES CONSIDERED AND EVALUATED A species list was requested from the IPAC website (https://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/) on November 3, 2017. Canada lynx, grizzly bear, and wolverine were on the list (01EIFW00-2017-SLI-0934). There is no critical habitat present in the project area. CANADA LYNX Life History The lynx diet is predominantly snowshoe hare in both summer and winter. For example, 96 percent of the lynx diet in Montana is snowshoe hare (less than two percent red squirrel) and 81 percent of the lynx diet in Washington is snowshoe hare (14 percent red squirrel) (ILBT 2013). The minimum threshold density of snowshoe hares for lynx has been estimated at greater than 0.5 hares per hectare to greater than 1.5 hares per hectare (ILBT 2013). Lynx habitat is characterized by dense, horizontal cover; moderate to high snowshoe hare densities, and persistent snow (ILBT 2013). Lynx habitat vegetation includes mature mesic spruce-fir, multi-layered mature lodgepole pine, and regenerating lodgepole pine (Ellsworth and Reynolds 2006; Maletzke et al. 2008, Shenk 2009, Squires et al. 2006), but the main lynx vegetation type in the western United States is spruce-fir forests (ILBT 2013). Preferred regenerating lodgepole pine stands are sapling stage (10 to 30 years in age), un-pruned, and comprised of 4500 to 33,000 stems per acre (Ellsworth and Reynolds 2006). Lynx dispersal is relatively commonplace: Lynx from Canada may disperse southward when the snowshoe hare population cycle is at a low; these Canadian dispersers may be the most reliable source of replenishment for Canada lynx populations in the contiguous U.S. (USFWS 2014). Also, sub-adult lynx disperse at ten months of age prior to the next mating period. Dispersal distances vary from five to 269 kilometers, with a median of 13 kilometers. Further, adults exhibit long-range exploratory movements (Squires et al. 2006). The duration of these movements is one week to several months (Ruediger et al. 2000). Documented movement distances have been as much as 1000 kilometers (Squires and Oakleaf 2005). For example, lynx from Colorado have traveled to eleven states; these are Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming (Shenk 2009). Habitats used by lynx during movements and dispersal are not well understood (USFWS 2005). Lynx may prefer to move through continuous forest, using geographic features such as ridges, saddles, and riparian areas (USDA 2007), but lynx have been documented in sagebrush steppe outside of home ranges (Ruediger et al. 2000). Dispersing lynx may be affected by highways, especially those with high traffic volumes. Causes of mortality of dispersing lynx include illegal shooting, vehicle collisions, and starvation (ILBT 2013). Affected Environment - Population Status The Dubois Ranger District is in a secondary lynx area. Secondary lynx areas are defined by sporadic current and historic records of lynx, overall low relative abundance, and no documentation of reproduction. Secondary lynx areas are hypothesized to be important for dispersal of lynx or provide habitat until the animal(s) return to core or primary areas. The lynx recovery outline objective related to secondary lynx areas is to maintain habitat for occupancy by lynx (USFWS 2005). There is no evidence that lynx are present on the Dubois Ranger District. During 1999-2003, the northeastern portion of the district in the Centennial Mountains was surveyed as part of the National Lynx Detection Survey. There were seven survey stations and there were no lynx detections. Lynx from the Colorado lynx project traveled to eleven states, including Idaho (Shenk 2009). These animals were radio-collared and none of them traveled through the Dubois District. From 1874 to present, there have been no reliable observations of Canada lynx on the Dubois District. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) has a long history of lynx presence, but that presence may or may not be consistent. There may be a small resident population of 10 individuals or less in the GYE. Residency of both males and females or reproduction have been documented east of Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park and the Wyoming Range on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (Bell et al. 2016). There is no evidence of a persistent lynx population on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Affected Environment - Habitat Status On June 6, 2012, the federal judge of the District Court of Idaho ruled that an EIS needed to be completed for a lynx analysis unit (LAU) map on the Targhee National Forest. Thus, the forest created a new LAU map with lynx linkage habitat in 2013 based on the 2007 Northern Rockies Lynx Management Direction (NRLMD) and completed a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) in 2015. The final EIS is in preparation. Until the final EIS is complete, LAUs are not identified and lynx habitat is determined using the definition in the NRLMD (USDA 2007).
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